Related Links

Cairo - Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's Freedom and Justice Party elected former parliament chief Saad al-Katatni on Friday to replace Morsi, who stepped down on taking over the presidency.

Katatni, who headed the Islamist-dominated parliament dissolved shortly before Morsi's election in June, beat his rival Essam al-Erian with roughly 67% of the vote by party delegates.

Erian was the acting head of the party, founded by the influential Muslim Brotherhood movement, after Morsi stepped down on having been elected the country's president.

In a speech after his election, Katatni said one of his "main priorities is to cement national unity."

Katatni is believed to be closer to powerful hardliners in the Muslim Brotherhood movement such as deputy leader Khairat al-Shater, who was the Brotherhood's first pick for the presidency before his disqualification.

But Erian, who had cultivated a reputation as a pragmatist willing to work with non-Islamist groups, has come under fire for incendiary remarks against the Islamists' opponents.

He is under criminal investigation for allegedly inciting clashes last week between Islamists and their opponents during simultaneous rallies held in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

The clashes, which left scores wounded, revealed the extent of the rift in the post-uprising country over the Islamists' unprecedented control of the country.

A constituent assembly drafting a new charter, to replace the one suspended after Hosni Mubarak's ouster in the uprising last year, is heavily influenced by the religious conservatives.

A court, acting on complaints from the assembly's opponents, is expected to rule on its legality on 23 October.

24.com publishes all comments posted on articles provided that they adhere to our Comments Policy. Should you wish to report a comment for editorial review, please do so by clicking the 'Report Comment' button to the right of each comment.

Tell us a bit about yourself:

Saving your profile

Settings

News24 allows you to edit the display of certain components based on a location.
If you wish to personalise the page based on your preferences, please select a
location for each component and click "Submit" in order for the changes to
take affect.

Your Location*

Weather*

Always remember my setting

Saving your settings

Facebook Sign-In

Hi News addict,

Join the News24 Community to be involved in breaking the news.

Log in with Facebook to comment and personalise news, weather and listings.